Louise Allan - Author

ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT IN THESE WORKSHOPS!

Sessions are nearly sold out, so hurry, hurry if you want to book tickets.

This is a a series of writing workshops over five Saturdays commencing 5 September 2024.

The title of the series is DIP YOUR TOE and the workshops are designed for anyone who wants to write, whether it be fiction, memoir, poetry, a blog, essays – anything!

Each week, a different writer will present a workshop on a different topic:

Week 1 - 7 Sept: Getting Started with Annie De Monchaux
Tickets: trybooking.com/CTZMV
Week 2 - 14 Sept: Building Characters with Louise Wolhuter
Tickets: trybooking.com/CTZNF
Week 3 - 21 September: Bringing Memories to the Page with Gerard McCann
Tickets: trybooking.com/CTZNK
Week 4 - 28 September: Make Your Sentences Soar with Michelle Johnston
Tickets: trybooking.com/CTZNS
Week 5 - 5 October: The Power of the 5 Senses
Tickets: trybooking.com/CTZNZ

So hurry, as we’re literally down to only a few tickets still available for each session!

DETAILS:⁠
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Where: Open Book, 124 Wellington Street, Mosman Park ⁠
When: Saturdays 7, 14, 21, 28 September and 5 October ⁠
Time: 10am – 12pm ⁠
Cost: $30 per two hour session⁠
Bring: a notebook and pen (or two), or your laptop (make sure it’s charged), and a keep cup for coffee (coffee shop is next door)⁠
Book via Trybooking – see links for the five sessions above
Numbers strictly capped at 12

DIP YOUR TOE

I'm returning from a long period of social media absence to let everyone know that four dear writer friends and I will be presenting a series of writing workshops over five Saturdays commencing 5 September 2024.

The title of the series is DIP YOUR TOE and the workshops are designed for those of you who've always wondered if you could write (the answer is, yes, yes, yes, of course you can!), but have been too scared to dip your toe.

The intention of the workshops is to spark joy as well as imaginations. So here's your chance to start that book you've always thought you had in you. It doesn't matter if you want to write fiction, memoir or poetry, come along to one or all of these workshops, and dip your toe in story and language and dreams.

DETAILS:

Where: Open Book, 124 Wellington Street, Mosman Park
When: Saturdays 7, 14, 21, 28 September and 5 October
Time: 10am – 12pm
Cost: $30 per two hour session
Bring: a notebook and pen (or two), or your laptop (make sure it’s charged), and a keep cup for coffee (coffee shop is next door)
Book via Trybooking – see links in bio and below
Numbers strictly capped at 12

Each week, a different writer will present a workshop on a different topic:

Week 1 - 7 Sept: Getting Started with Annie De Monchaux
The basics of writing, including word choices, the anatomy of a paragraph, avoiding self-criticism and the importance of positivity.
Tickets: trybooking.com/CTZMV

Week 2 - 14 Sept: Building Characters with Louise Wolhuter
Breaking them down and rounding them back out. A show-don’t-tell and leap-then-look approach to bringing cliché-free characters to life.
Tickets: trybooking.com/CTZNF

Week 3 - 21 September: Bringing Memories to the Page with Gerard McCann
Writing prompts and exercises that will re-energise memories and free thoughts for those writing memoir or fiction.
trybooking.com/CTZNK

Week 4 - 28 September: Make Your Sentences Soar with Michelle Johnston
‘The sentence is a self-contained world of wonder.’ Tips to make your sentences soar, sing and set your readers’ hearts aflame.
trybooking.com/CTZNS

Week 5 - 5 October: The Power of the 5 Senses
Whether you’re writing fiction, memoir or poetry, using sensory detail brings your words to life. This workshop will show you how to utilise all five senses in your writing in order to spark your readers’ imaginations.
trybooking.com/CTZNZ

Writing addiction is guaranteed! We really hope you can join us.

Keep your eyes peeled because these beauties (the books and the people) are about to hit the bookstores next month, and you are in for a treat.

Not only are the books tender and moving books, and not only are the authors gifted writers, but they are two of the warmest human beings I know and I’m so proud to be their friend.

Annie de Monchaux’s book, Audrey Goes AWOL is the story of a woman nearing 60 who, having given her youth over to raising a family, decides to take control of the rest of her life. It’s warm and wise and humorous. I called it Shirley Valentine for the new millennium.

Gerard McCann’s memoir is the story of a courageous man who stared down the Catholic Church in seeking justice for his childhood self.

Both books are tender and moving, and both authors have a gift for language and storytelling. You don’t want to miss their books!

Photo description: a youthful looking man and woman holding their shimmering book babies in an outdoor cafe.

I was in a writing group with Gerard McCann for 10 years, maybe even longer.

During that time, I heard him read many of his stories. They made me laugh as they usually involved he and his brothers getting up to shenanigans in and around Cottesloe.

Not only did he make me laugh, but he made me cry because underlying the fun was a sadness and grief.

After writing group, when everyone else had left, Gerard and I often stayed later, chatting in the carpark. That’s when I heard the remarkable story that’s told in this book.

It was pretty obvious to me (and everyone else in the writing group) that Gerard was a natural with language and storytelling. We all knew he’d be published one day – and that day is April 30 this year.

There’s something special about witnessing the genesis of a book, and I couldn’t be prouder if I’d written the book myself. Not that I could have written this story, because (a) it’s a memoir, and (b) this writer has more talent in his little finger than I have in my whole body.

Perth people, keep May 2 free for the launch of this very special memoir by this incredible and courageous writer. Buy it, read it, laugh and cry.

Congratulations, Gerard. I cannot wait for the launch

Fremantle Press

⛔️🧒🙏⛪️✝️⛔️

My thoughts on TIDELINES by Sarah Sasson:

What an amazing debut this novel is! Written by doctor and writer, , this a coming of age story that reads like a memoir.

The protagonist is nicknamed ‘Grub’ by her adored older brother, Elijah. They’re the children of a Jewish mother and an Irish father, and spend their childhoods swimming and playing in oceans and pools around Sydney, carefree and oblivious to the problems of the world.

Elijah is good-looking and a musical prodigy. Everyone loves him and it appears that the world is his oyster. All this changes when he meets ‘Zed’, a charismatic yet elusive friend. Despite sensing danger, Grub, too, falls for Zed’s charms.

This is a gentle tale depicting the unravelling of a boy and a family. In gentle but raw prose, it shows the complexity of drug addiction and the powerlessness of loved ones to stop it. It’s also a story of grief, of acceptance, and of self-discovery.

The story is magnetic, the threads braiding together subtly and taking hold. It’s raw but gentle, realistic but loving. No blame, no judgment, just acceptance of how little control we have over others, including those we love.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟from me

Heartfelt congratulations to Stefanie Koen on winning The Banjo Prize 2023 with her manuscript ‘Islands of Dreams’. Stef’s manuscript was chosen from hundreds of entries from all over Australia, and the prize comes with publication and a $15,000 advance.

I feel like the proud aunt, as I was lucky enough to read Stef’s manuscript back in early 2022. Straightaway I knew this story would be published one day as she’s a gifted writer and this is a beautiful story.

The book has two timelines. The contemporary story begins with schoolteacher, Tess McCarthy, flying to Western Australia’s remote Abrolhos Islands in search of answers – both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and to her personal family crises. The second timeline covers the Batavia’s ill-fated voyage in 1628, when Saskia, a young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with her family, bound for a new life in the East Indies – only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship’s reluctant under surgeon. Tess, Saskia and Aris all carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. In the most unlikely circumstances, they find qualities that span centuries: faith, acceptance, and love.

Here’s what Anna Valdinger at Harper Collins said about it:

‘… Stefanie’s novel impressed us all with its skillful blend of contemporary and historical storylines, strong writing and a powerful evocation of this fascinating slice of Australia’s past. This is compelling, moving historical fiction in the vein of Natasha Lester and Kayte Nunn and I’m so excited to share it with readers.’

I’m excited, too, and I can’t wait for others to read this beautiful story.

Congratulations, too, to Anna Fursland, another of my mentees, who was shortlisted for this prize. Keep an eye out for this gifted writer’s book in stores one day, too!

HarperCollins Books Australia Anna Fursland_Writer

DAY 1/100:⁠
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And just like that, the end of 2023 is in sight – only 100 days left. So I’m embarking on 100 Days of Writing, run by London Writers' Salon. ⁠
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This is the third year I've joined the challenge, the aim of which is to set a writing goal for the end of the year and go for it. ⁠
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My goal is to have a complete draft of Novel #3 by December 31. I'm only ~7500 words into this draft, so I'm going to have to smother my desk chair with glue and keep the batteries of my fingers charged.⁠

I have 80,000 words that, if I squint, I could call the bones of a draft. I wrote these words more than a year ago, so I’m excited to revisit them and try to pull them into a flowing story. Somehow. 😜
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Two years ago my goal was to rewrite my novel during these 100 days. I wrote every day, shared a photo on my Stories and reached my goal.⁠
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Last year wasn't as successful – I'd had a rocky year and didn't set a goal, nor share a photo.
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So this year I’m making a public pledge to write every day for the next 100 days so I have a full draft of Novel #3 by the end of the year. ⁠
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I'll also share a photo every day as, clearly, both are essential for my success in this challenge. 😝
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The first photo in this post is my desk today, and the second is my desk exactly two years ago when I first did this challenge.⁠
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If you want to join the 100 Days of Writing with London Writers Salon, here's a link to their website: https://londonwriterssalon.com/

I am here at the majestic Varuna Writers House, feeling the spirit of my fellow writers all tapping away in their own rooms, and inhaling the ghosts of all the words already written in this house.⁣⁠
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Once again, I never want to leave. ⁣⁠

Varuna the National Writers' House

Just popping this here for anyone who may be inclined to hop over to Spotify and have a listen.

It's my son's latest track and I'm a very proud momma.

https://open.spotify.com/track/15QtqUeU6P4oaBgobP24v4?si=2510576f1494460a

Given we’ve all been invited to the party in the Threads’ house next door, I’ll use this opportunity to (re)introduce myself over here as well.

Most of you already know me, but for anyone who’s new, here’s a little about me:

I’m a writer/author from Boorloo/Perth, WA. I had a novel published (The Sister’s Song, A&U) a few years ago, and since then have been flogging myself silly to write a second book (there’s a very rough draft of a third in the mix too).

After a number of false starts (which I’ll detail in future posts), and a really sh*tty year (corporate and medicine should never be used in the same sentence), I feel like I’m coming out of a long tunnel of relative darkness.

I’ve hit 70K words of this new draft and I’m really happy with it. Long story short: the last few years have taught me that I’m a very bad writer of third person POV but a very good one of first person. As soon as I made that switch, my story all came together.

Apart from writing, I’m also mad about swimming, I’m a mother of 4 adult kids and 2 ageing dogs, and I was once a doctor.

Who knew that a new platform was all I needed to revive my interest in social media? I’m so looking forward to keeping up with all my old and new friends again.

Lx

SUNDAY SESSIONS 19 MARCH⁠
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FAWWA Sunday Sessions are coming up soon – March 19, from 9am – and we can't wait to bring you these 4 brilliant authors and writers teaching 90-minute small-group workshops in their specialised areas:⁠
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9am: Natasha Lester teaching Writing Historical Fiction⁠
11am: Amanda Betts teaching Writing for Young Adults⁠
1pm: Amanda Kendle teaching Social Media for Writers and Authors⁠
3pm: Amanda Bridgeman teaching Self-Publishing – A Step By Step Guide⁠
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This is always a fun day and a highlight of our calendar, so we hope to see you there. ⁠
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Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided.⁠
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Tickets start at $54 for members. See Eventbrite:⁠
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https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sunday-sessions-march-23-1716709?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=creatorshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=odclsxcollection&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

Well, I woke up to this lovely review today by , which has buoyed my sagging spirits and reminded me that I once wrote a book that got published and was translated into another language.

For those who can’t read Dutch, Instagram’s English translation is below, followed by the original one in Dutch.

📚📚📚

📚 Opinion
This debut, whose setting spans from Australia from the twenties to nineties, follows the lives of two different sisters. And as Louise Allan has entrusted the road they will go to paper... it is simply exquisite. Because this beautiful, but also tragic story, in which fact and fiction are beautifully intertwined, nestles effortlessly in your heart and leaves your emotions untouched. But not only that, it's fascinating too. As it progresses, you are dragged more and more by this family saga, which ultimately shows that music has a healing and uniting power and that the bond between sisters is unbreakable, whatever (between them) happens no matter how far away they get from each other.

📚 Conclusion
"The song of sisters" is such a novel that you just have to read in one breath, because it is so beautiful, so moving. Recommended with a capital letter A.

📚📚📚

RECENSIE 📚 Vandaag de recensie van ‘Het lied van zussen’ (Louise Allan).

📚 Inhoud
Australië, 1926. De gelukkige kindertijd van Ida en haar zusje Nora Parker eindigt abrupt als hun vader overlijdt. De gebeurtenis leidt bij hun moeder tot een inzinking en wanneer blijkt dat ze niet langer in staat is de meisjes te geven wat ze nodig hebben, trekken ze in bij hun grootmoeder. Ida doet haar best om zo goed mogelijk voor haar zusje te zorgen, maar door de jaren heen ontstaat er steeds meer afstand tussen hen als hun grootmoeder Nora aanmoedigt om haar muzikale talent te ontwikkelen, en Ida, die hartstochtelijk verlangt naar een eigen gezinnetje, een betrekking vindt als kindermeisje. Ida vindt het moeilijk, helemaal als duidelijk wordt dat ze vermoedelijk nooit moeder zal worden, terwijl Nora alles lijkt te hebben wat het leven de moeite waard maakt… maar er niets om geeft.

📚 Mening
Dit debuut, waarvan de setting bestaat uit het Australië van de jaren twintig tot negentig van de vorige eeuw, volgt het leven van twee verschillende zussen. En zoals Louise Allan de weg die beiden gaan aan het papier heeft toevertrouwd… het is eenvoudigweg voortreffelijk. Want dit prachtige, maar ook wel tragische verhaal, waarin feit en fictie knap met elkaar vervlochten zijn, nestelt zich moeiteloos in je hart en laat je emoties niet onberoerd. Maar dat niet alleen, het is boeiend ook. Naarmate het vordert, word je namelijk meer en meer meegesleept door deze familiesaga, waaruit uiteindelijk blijkt dat er in muziek een genezende en samenbindende kracht schuilt en dat de band tussen zussen onverbrekelijk is, wat er ook (tussen hen) gebeurt en hoever ze ook van elkaar verwijderd raken.

📚 Conclusie
‘Het lied van zussen’ is zo’n roman die je gewoon in één adem móét uitlezen, omdat hij zo mooi is, zo meeslepend. Een aanrader met een hoofdletter A

I went to the launch of ’s ‘Tiny Uncertain Miracles’ tonight and celebrated the hours and the angst that have gone into creating this work of art.

For those who don’t know Michelle and her writing, she is unusurpassed as an acrobat of linguistics, a doyenne of expression. Every sentence of hers leaves me breathless, wondering how she’s managed to conjure the imagery she has.

I can’t wait to dive into this golden novel that I haven’t seen since its very, very early incarcerations.

Congratulations, Michelle, on this well-earned day of celebration!

There are more photos to come, but I thought I'd share this one from the FAWWA Sunday Sessions last weekend. ⁠
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Most of you already know we ran a series of workshops last Sunday and, it's fair to say, they went off like a frog in a sock! Feedback from participants was sensational – people went away not only having learnt about writing but also inspired and encouraged to keep going. ⁠
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Two sessions sold out and the other two were near-full. Kudos to the people who stayed for the whole day – 4 X 90-minute sessions over 7.5 hours! Proof that people are dedicated to writing over here in west!
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Pictured here are (L -> R): Dervla McTiernan, Karen Whittle-Herbert, Helena Studdert, me, Emma Bladen. ⁠
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I caught snippets of Dervla's sold-out workshop and so wish I could have listened to it all. (I've heard a rumour it may be repeated and I'd highly recommend going if you get the chance!)⁠
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Thank you to everyone involved in organising – most of whom are in the photo, except for David Allan-Petale, who was taking the shot. ⁠
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And thank you to everyone who came – for your enthusiasm, energy and willingness to be part of it. Without you, it wouldn't be possible. Your joy and energy inspires us to keep going, making them bigger and better, including opening them up via Zoom next time so people outside of Perth – outside of Western Australia or even outside of Australia (!) – can attend!⁠

Thanks to all 🙏

This week, I have the gorgeous Joanna Morrison in the attic, talking about her début novel, The Ghost of Gracie Flynn, out now with Fremantle Press.⁠
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I love all the posts people share for WITA, and this is no exception. It's on a topic – rewriting – that's an underrated weapon in a novelist’s arsenal, and something not all writers are prepared to do, because it really does take courage to shred your hard-earned and much-loved words, and write new ones.⁠
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Click here to read the rest of Jo's post: https://louiseallan.com/2022/10/17/joanna-morrison-writing-and-rewriting-the-ghost-of-gracie-flynn/
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✨BOOK GIVEAWAY✨⁠
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I’m thrilled to offer a copy of Joanna's book, The Ghost of Gracie Flynn, to giveaway.⁠
To enter, simply comment on this blog or any of my social media posts about Joanna's novel.⁠
The winner will be drawn 12pm (WST) this Thursday, 20th October, and will be chosen randomly. ⁠
International entries are welcome, but we can only post to an Australian address.⁠
Good luck!⁠

Addendum 21.10.22: Congratulations to Marian Edmunds on winning the Book Giveaway! A copy of The Ghost of Gracie Flynn is on its way to you. Thank you to everyone who read and commented on the post – your support of Australian authors is appreciated.
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Joanna Morrison - Author Fremantle Press